Exclusive: Ex-Man Utd star questions whether INEOS ‘actually watched’ Sesko before signing him | OneFootball

Former Man Utd defender Paul Parker has questioned whether the Red Devils “sent anyone to actually watch” Benjamin Sesko play before signing him.

The Red Devils paid out around £74m to sign Sesko from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS backed Ruben Amorim.

Man Utd spent almost all of their budget on attacking players with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo also joining, while Senne Lammens and Diego Leon were the other summer arrivals.

Sesko has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and playing for Man Utd, with the Slovenia international contributing two goals and one assist in 14 matches in all competitions.

And Parker wonders whether Man Utd ever sent any scouts to go and watch Sesko as they are failing to play to the 22-year-old’s strengths.

The former Man Utd defender told Football365 with gambling portal British Gambler: “You look at Benjamin Sesko and the goals he’s scored, it makes me wonder whether Manchester United sent anyone to actually watch him play. When he was at Leipzig, there were lots of balls coming into the box and those big-angle passes being hit at him from deep for him to run onto.

“He was scoring all kinds of goals there, and at United they’re feeding him breadcrumbs. The players behind him aren’t giving him opportunities so he’s having to do a lot of the work himself which is of course expected, you have to give a little bit back sometimes.

“That was Rasmus Hojlund’s issue, too. He struggled in the Premier League because he wasn’t fed enough, but also agility-wise and quickness of feet, they were reasons he struggled, too. That’s why he’s been given the opportunity to flourish in the Serie A because the pace of that league is no where near the speed of the Premier League.”

It’s unlikely that England will take many Man Utd players to the World Cup but Parker has addressed the media narrative surrounding former Old Trafford transfer target Jude Bellingham, who now stars for Real Madrid and the Three Lions.

Parker added: “If you’re going on current form, Morgan Rogers should be starting ahead of Jude Bellingham for England next summer at the World Cup. When you play with England you try and make everything as close to a club’s scenario as possible.

“The issue is that the media have been so pivotal in driving Bellingham’s narrative. The media have been pushing Bellingham since the Euros to make it all about him. When you look at Rogers, he’s that one player in the team who’s allowed to go wherever he wants, he often comes in from the left-hand side to score goals.

“I love what Rogers is doing for Villa but also what Eberechi Eze did for Crystal Palace when he played a similar role. Eze was outstanding at that time and I think he was the best in the Premier League in that position last season.

“I think that freedom has been taken away from him by Mikel Arteta since going to Arsenal. They bought him for what he was delivering and then when they got him, they’ve tried to get him to do something different. It doesn’t make sense for that kind of money.

“Cole Palmer is another vying for that role and he’s good in the big games. He’s proven that for club and country already. It’s about him getting the games back under his belt after his injury, but for me he’s the most standout player. He plays off the cuff, not that Rogers and Eze don’t, but Palmer stands out the most, the issue is there that he’s got a manager who’s still trying to school him.”